It took a while to figure out what kind of fruit I have not tried. Because how can you figure out what fruit to try if you obviously do not know what specifically that is? But then I saw a strange alien fruit on a K-drama I was watching. So I snapped a picture, and it turned out it was a fruit called Rambutan (Ram-Boo-Tn). A fruit I could easily get at Walmart.
This is by far the weirdest looking fruit I have ever laid my eyes on. The first thing I thought was, "It's covered in pig hair." I have never seen anything like this before, and I have seen a lot. Rambutan, is roughly one inch and a half in with and height. It can fit in the palm of your hand like a chicken egg, a hairy chicken egg. Despite that, it is not painful to hold. The hairs are actually called "spinterns", fleshy spins that stick out from every side of the little round fruit. Its shape looks like an egg, but if I were to cut off the fleshy spins, it would have looked like a discolored and very large raspberry or a small pineapple. It is also surprisingly a very sturdy fruit, not breaking when I squeezed it out of curiosity.
To open it, I had considered using a knife since it would have been easier to open, but instead my nails to punctured around the fruit and pried it open. I found that more satisfying (also fewer dishes for me to wash). Opening the fruit was really easy, with little to no resistance. And inside was a glossy white nucleus. It reminded me of jello, but that was my mistake when I took a bite into it and my teeth hit a seed. It hurt, and I was surprised it did not break my teeth, so there was no trip to the dentist for me.
Do not make the same mistake and check your fruits for big seeds!!!
But on the second try I notice a lot. In the inside of the shell, there's a silky white skin layer separating the inner parts from the outer shell. And in my ever lasting curiosity of things that will end up being my downfall, I thought the shell looked edible.
It was in fact not edible and was extremely bitter.
The fruity insides were surprisingly easy removed from the shell. I just had to twist and pull, and it came out in one piece. And the overall flavor of the fruity nucleus (I separated the fruit from the seed this time) was savory with some sweetness and a slight tart to it. After a while, I realized it reminded me a lot of a grape, even its texture upon biting but feeling it in my fingers it was smoother and flexible.
I actually really loved that way the sweet fruit tasted. It was refreshing and since I have a whole bag's worth I look forward to eating the rest on this very hot day.
Overall, 10/10!!!!
Definitely getting this again!!!!
I felt like I was right there with you, holding a “hairy chicken egg” and trying not to break a tooth! I love how curious and honest you were throughout the whole experience, especially when you described the shell as edible until proven otherwise
ReplyDeleteYou did Excellent in painting the picture in my head, and honestly, I felt my tooth hurt when I read you bit the shell. Thank you for the warnings because I too would have just bit into it. I'm curious to try this fruit now.
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